A Smarter Approach Would Support Efforts to Improve Facilities, Boost Efficiency and Reduce Emissions
Under the Clean Air Act, new emissions sources (such as power plants, manufacturing facilities and refineries) – or major modifications to existing sources – are subject to more stringent emissions regulations than existing sources. New Source Review strongly discourages plant operators from upgrading equipment and facilities, even when changes will improve efficiency and reduce emissions.
New Source Review is a Barrier to Efficiency and Environmental Upgrades
- Discourages Investment: Savings from increased efficiency and reliability of potential facility upgrades are frequently outweighed by the cost of running the New Source Review regulatory gauntlet.
- Discourages Innovation: By removing economic incentives for efficiency, reliability and environmental improvements, the policy discourages technology innovation in add-on equipment for existing facilities.
Learn More About a Smarter Approach to New Source Review:
One-Page Overview of New Source Review Regulations
Background Paper on New Source Review
1. Scale back and simplify the rules defining which projects require New Source Review;
2. Provide flexible implementation that considers the environmental performance of an entire facility, rather than individual generating units; and
3. Modify current law to explicitly allow routine maintenance, repair and equipment replacement without the threat of New Source Review enforcement actions.